HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011-03-02 BOR Meeting MinutesCOUNTY OF HAWAII
TAX BOARD OF REVIEW
MEETING MINUTES — Organizational Meeting
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Real Property Tax Conference Room
101 Pauahi Street, Suite 4, Hilo, Hawaii
CALL TO ORDER:
Vice -Chairman Wesley Takai called the meeting to order at 10:10 a.m.
Present were: Board Members Wesley Takai, Albert Kualii and Reiko Ford;
Craig Masuda, Deputy Corporation Counsel; Michael McCall, Real Property Tax
Assistant Administrator; Jon Pike, Real Property Tax Appraisal Supervisor; and
Elizabeth (Nina) Swain, Board Secretary.
No members from the public were in attendance.
STATEMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC: No statements were made.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
Minutes from appeal hearings held on September 14, 15, 20 and 21, October 19
and 20, and November 16, 2010 were distributed to the Board Members prior to
the meeting for their review.
Mrs. Ford and Mr. Takai noted the following corrections to the minutes:
• September 14 pg. 4 Case No. 15816
Correction: Building value should read $374,100.
• September 15 pg. 3 Withdrawn Cases
Correction: Case No. 15455 should read 15450.
• October 20 pg. 3 Case No. 16672
Correction: Property located at the White Sands Beach Estates.
Mr. Kualii moved to accept the minutes with corrections as read. Seconded
by Mrs. Ford. A call for discussion was made. Motion passed by a vote of
3:0.
OLD BUSINESS: No old business discussed.
NEW BUSINESS:
• Welcome Any New Board Members.
Mr. Masuda provided the Members with an update as to the status of the
filling of the two (2) vacancies. Two applications were received and are
pending the approval from the Mayor. Once approved, they will be
presented to the County Council for approval.
• Election of Officers.
Mrs. Ford nominated Mr. Kualii as Chairman and Mr. Takai as Vice -
Chairman. No other nominations were received.
Mrs. Ford moved to elect Mr. Kualii as Chairman and Mr. Takai as
Vice -Chairman. Seconded by Mr. Takai. A call for discussion was
made. Motion passed by a vote of 3:0.
• Establishing Dates for 2011 Tax Appeal Case Hearings.
A list of the tentative appeal hearing dates was distributed to the
Members. The dates are as follows:
Hilo: July 12, 13; August 16, 17; September 20, 21; October 18, 19;
November 15, 16; December 6, 7
Kona: July 5, 6, 19, 20; August 9, 10, 23, 24; September 6, 7, 27, 28;
October 11, 127 257 26; November 8, 97 227 23
Hilo hearings will be held at the Aupuni Center Conference Room and
Kona hearings will be held at the Department of Liquor Control
Conference Room in the newly built West Hawaii Civic Center.
• Establishing Workshop Date, Place and Agenda.
A discussion was held amongst the Members as to the date and place of
the Annual Board of Review Workshop. It was decided that the Workshop
will be held on June 8, 2011, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., with the
location to be determined by Ms. Swain. Members decided to send their
suggested topics for the Workshop's agenda to Ms. Swain. A discussion
was also held as to the State Board of Review Conference scheduled to
be held on Oahu on May 27, 2011. Mr. Takai reported that he would not
be able to attend the conference due to personal commitments.
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• Discussion of Bills Relating to Assessments.
Mr. Masuda reported that it was too early for any information as to any
changes in the law as nothing has been discussed in the legislature and
nothing has been approved or passed.
• General Legal Discussion and Training.
Mr. Masuda presented training material to the Members on the Code of
Ethics. Mr. Masuda also stated that training sessions, as those conducted
for the Board Members last year during hearings that allowed for longer
breaks between the morning and afternoon sessions, would be provided
again this year.
The following comments were presented by the Members and those present:
Mr. Takai stated that the Notice for Filing Complaints needs to be
published during the first week of September.
• Mr. Kualii stated that on the second Wednesday of each month he has
other personal obligations and may need to excuse himself from hearings
scheduled for the afternoons on those dates.
Mr. Pike requested from the Members suggested topics for the State
Board of Review Workshop. Stanley Sitko, Real Property Tax
Administrator, would be presenting them to the organizers of the
conference as requested.
o Suggestions from the Members were:
■ Rotate from the Board Members to the attorney panel to
allow all those in attendance the opportunity to ask
questions.
■ Provide break-out sessions for the Board Members, Clerical
staff, Attorneys, etc.
■ Highly suggested that the organizers find a strong moderator
who will be able to control the meeting so as to not allow the
question and answer period to be dominated by Oahu.
■ Invite a speaker that could speak on the economic lag and
the affect of foreclosures on property values.
Mr. Masuda reported on the status of the proposed changes to the Rules
and Regulations. The proposal has been sent to Nancy Crawford,
Finance Director, for review and approval. Once approved, it will be set
for public hearing.
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ADJOURNMENT:
Meeting was adjourned at 11:45 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Elizabeth (Nina) Swain, Secretary